Learning Through Collaboration: Mathematics Teacher Educators and Mentor Teachers in Teacher Education
Keywords:
mathematics teacher education, mentor teachers, boundary learning, professional collaboration, preservice teacher practicumAbstract
Teaching to teach mathematics in a mathematics methods course integrating a school-based practicum experience often involves limited coordination between mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) and mentor teachers (MTs), leading to fragmented supervision and conflicting approaches. This study examines how collaboration between MTEs and MTs in Uruguay supports the professional learning of both groups of teacher educators. Grounded in the framework of boundary learning, we conceptualised their interactions as boundary encounters and analysed five recorded meetings in which MTEs and MTs discussed how to accompany two prospective teachers (PTs) during their practicum. Using a qualitative, exploratory case study design, we traced how the learning mechanisms of identification, coordination, reflection, and transformation emerged in their discussions. Findings show that initial tensions were reframed through the identification of sociocultural differences and pedagogical roles, while coordination developed around boundary objects such as lesson plans and observation tools. Reflection occurred when participants problematised assumptions and adopted others’ perspectives, and transformation was evident in proposals for hybrid practices such as joint planning, co-teaching, and shared examination panels. The study demonstrates that collaboration transforms tensions into opportunities and highlights the importance of creating structured spaces for dialogue as well as formally recognising MTs as co-educators in mathematics teacher education.
References
Akkerman, S., & Bakker, A. (2011). Boundary crossing and boundary objects. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 132–169. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311404435
Boadi, A., Amoah, E., Ameyaw, E. S., & Atteh, E. (2024). The effect of supervisors’ feedback in extended teaching on pre-service mathematics teachers practice. Archives of Current Research International, 24(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.9734/acri/2024/v24i3638
Boland, R. J., & Tenkasi, R. V. (1995). Perspective making and perspective taking in communities of knowing. Organization Science, 6(4), 350–372. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.6.4.350
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Bronkhorst, L., & Akkerman, S. (2016). At the boundary of school: Continuity and discontinuity in learning across contexts. Educational Research Review, 19, 18–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2016.04.001
Burns, R. W., Jacobs, J., & Yendol-Hoppey, D. (2016). The changing nature of the role of the university supervisor and function of preservice teacher supervision in an era of clinically rich practice. Action in Teacher Education, 38(4), 410–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2016.1226203
Butler, B., & Cuenca, A. (2012). Conceptualizing the roles of mentor teachers during student teaching. Action in Teacher Education, 34(4), 296–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2012.717012
Butler, E., Prieto, E., Osborn, J.-A., Howley, P., Lloyd, A., Kepert, A., & Roberts, M. (2019). Learning across discipline boundaries through narrative inquiry: A study of a collaboration to improve mathematics teacher education. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 21(2), 87–106.
Clarke, A., & Jarvis-Selinger, S. (2005). What the teaching perspectives of cooperating teachers tell us about their advisory practices. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(1), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2004.11.006
Clarke, A., Triggs, V., & Nielsen, W. (2014). Cooperating teacher participation in teacher education: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 84(2), 163–202. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313499618
Cooper, J. (2019). Mathematicians and teachers sharing perspectives on teaching whole number arithmetic: Boundary-crossing in professional development. ZDM–Mathematics Education, 51(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-018-0995-4
Downton, A., Muir, T., & Livy, S. (2018). Linking theory and practice: A case study of a co-teaching situation between a mathematics teacher educator and a primary classroom teacher. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 20(3), 102–118. https://mted.merga.net.au/index.php/mted/article/view/471
Fernandez, M., & Erbilgin, E. (2009). Examining the supervision of mathematics student teachers through analysis of conference communications. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 72(1), 93–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-009-9185-1
Goos, M. (1999). Scaffolds for learning: A sociocultural approach to reforming mathematics teaching and teacher education. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 1, 4–21. https://mted.merga.net.au/index.php/mted/article/view/136
Goos, M. (2014). Creating opportunities to learn in mathematics education: A sociocultural perspective. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 26(3), 439–457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-013-0102-7
Goos, M. (2015). Learning at the boundaries. In M. Marshman, V. Geiger, & A. Bennison (Eds.), Mathematics education in the margins, Proceedings of the 38th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (pp. 269–276). MERGA.
Lafferty, K. E. (2018). The difference explicit preparation makes in cooperating teacher practice. Teacher Education Quarterly, 45(3), 73–95. https://www.jstor.org/stable/90023442
Marshman, M., & Goos, M. (2025). Exploring the identities of hybrid mathematics teacher educators. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-025-09705-2
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Robutti, O., Cusi, A., Clark-Wilson, A., Jaworski, B., Chapman, O., Esteley, C., Goos, M., Isoda, M., & Joubert, M. (2016). ICME international survey on teachers working and learning through collaboration: June 2016. ZDM–Mathematics Education, 48(5), 651–690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-016-0797-5
Smith, T. (2000). Bridging the research-practice gap: Developing a pedagogical framework that promotes mathematical thinking and understanding. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 2, 4–16. https://mted.merga.net.au/index.php/mted/article/view/126?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Star, S. L., & Griesemer, J. R. (1989). Institutional ecology, “translations” and boundary objects: Amateurs and professionals in Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907–39. Social Studies of Science, 19(3), 387–420. http://www.jstor.org/stable/285080
Stebbins, R. A. (2001). Exploratory research in the social sciences. SAGE Publications.
Schwartz, C., Walkowiak, T. A., Poling, L., Richardson, K., & Polly, D. (2018). The nature of feedback given to elementary student teachers from university supervisors after observations of mathematics lessons. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 20(1), 62–85.
Tok, H. (2012). Four types of cooperating teachers: A synthesis of the literature. Energy Education Science and Technology Part B: Social and Educational Studies, 4(1), 447–458.
Wenger, E. (2008). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications. SAGE Publications.
